I was eating lunch at Olive Garden with my parents. I made a joke. Our waitress randomly popped up and asked "So, are you guys doing anything fun today ? Or this is it ?....*long awkward pause because we're all doing this face ---> *....So this is the only fun thing you're doing today ? " I'm assuming that's one of those random "get closer to the customer" lines corporate mandates, but dang, that was a wee bit too familiar for my taste!

I encountered a man at work yesterday who it seems has committed PD with pretty much anyone he's encountered who might have been in the position to employ him. A Google search revealed that he has been fired from several journalist positions and proclaims himself an expert in all things dealing with "politics, history, geography, science, and math." Seems he's tried to blackmail media outlets into giving him a job, or even to pay him to NOT print his pieces.

The university I work for is compiling information on the incident and his continued harassment of our employees, but here's the general letter I sent to my director, the university president, and our security staff after he came to my office yesterday. I've been purposely vague in some areas. I hope it makes sense. Can't imagine why he's a "freelance journalist and traveling archaeologist" (his words!)

Remember this guy from a few pages back? Well, he showed up in my office again yesterday afternoon, about 5 minutes before we closed. When I went to see what he wanted, he started in on me for not implementing his agenda quickly enough. I basically told him that it was closing time, and I didn't have time to address his issues today. That started a whole new narcissistic rant, with vitriolic insults aimed at me. He called me all manner of things, from stupid to academically and professionally incompetent. At this point, I called security. He then encountered a coworker of mine in the hallway outside my office, who also asked him to leave. He verbally attacked me to coworker as well. Security escorted him from the building.

I learned this morning that Mr. Narcissist then wandered over to the university president's office, but was unable to see the president as he had no appointment and it was AFTER CLOSING. He harangued the secretary there before again being escorted out by security.

He has now been banned from campus, his name and description have been passed along to city police. We are part of a dozen or so area historic sites which form a network to pool resources. Since one of his targets for "fact-checking" and harassment seem to be museum-type places, they have also been notified. I've informally passed along the info to the local newpaper my mom works for as well.

I don't know if this guy realizes how things like this play out in small towns like ours. If he had any hopes of using his (impressive/obsessive) fact-checking skills or journalism background to gain any kind of employment around here, that's not going to happen.

Someone at my old job got fired, showed up to peacefully talk it over with my bosses and then went home. Because the talk didn't result in a rehire, she later tried to file workman's comp "because I tripped on the railroad gravel leaving the office and cut my knee open very badly. I was sitting outside crying in pain." She was disappointed this scam didn't pan out. She called us after the claim was denied to cry, scream and threaten us with "IT REALLY HAPPENED! YOU ARE HURTING MY FEELINGS! I AM NOT A LIAR!....*vitriolic, illogical rant*....HOW DARE YOU POINT OUT ALL THE CONTRADICTING STORIES I'VE GIVEN YOU & WC ABOUT THE INCIDENT! I DIDN'T THINK TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL OR LET YOU GUYS KNOW I WAS HURT, BUT THAT ISN'T THE POINT!" After that, the rule was "do not ever connect NuttyGirl when she phones us."

But if she had alredy been fired, she was no longer an employee of the company, correct? And therefore not eligible for WC, or am I missing something here?

The thing that worries me about things like this are that somehow, somewhere, they've picked up the idea that *this is okay*. Sure, they could just be massively clueless but I'm afraid cynicalIris usually suspects that they have voiced this kind of comment aloud and never been reprimanded for it. It's only when they create a digital trace of it that the companies take action. Interesting assumption I know, but that's where my mind goes.

I'm sure that's true for some of them... but if it makes you feel any better, I've met/encountered quite a few people who go wayyyy further in text/email/chat than they ever would face-to-face or on the phone. It's like if it doesn't involve seeing or hearing the person they're communicating with, it's somehow not quite 'real' to them, and their social acceptability filters switch off.

They tend to be awfully surprised when they're called on it.

That does make me feel a little more hopeful for the future of the human race. Thank you

(I went googling for the Penny Arcade strip mentioned near the end of that page - warning, there's a Rude Word there - but the Wikipedia article is much more appropriate for EHell. )

Gulp! That's scary, that article is.

I've had to learn never to read comments on online newspaper articles, they just seem to mine the depths of human depravity, from all sides of the political/philosophical spectrum. Basically, I've concluded that there is no idea or principle one can hold, but that reading such comments sections will make one feel embarrassed for being associated with it.

I should remember to offer thanks to both our members and our mods who ensure that this site is something rare on the internet, a discussion site that does not resemble a nest of rabid weasels snarling at each other.

Logged

My cousin's memoir of love and loneliness while raising a child with multiple disabilities will be out on Amazon soon! Know the Night, by Maria Mutch, has been called "full of hope, light, and companionship for surviving the small hours of the night."

The thing that worries me about things like this are that somehow, somewhere, they've picked up the idea that *this is okay*. Sure, they could just be massively clueless but I'm afraid cynicalIris usually suspects that they have voiced this kind of comment aloud and never been reprimanded for it. It's only when they create a digital trace of it that the companies take action. Interesting assumption I know, but that's where my mind goes.

I'm sure that's true for some of them... but if it makes you feel any better, I've met/encountered quite a few people who go wayyyy further in text/email/chat than they ever would face-to-face or on the phone. It's like if it doesn't involve seeing or hearing the person they're communicating with, it's somehow not quite 'real' to them, and their social acceptability filters switch off.

They tend to be awfully surprised when they're called on it.

That does make me feel a little more hopeful for the future of the human race. Thank you

(I went googling for the Penny Arcade strip mentioned near the end of that page - warning, there's a Rude Word there - but the Wikipedia article is much more appropriate for EHell. )

Gulp! That's scary, that article is.

I've had to learn never to read comments on online newspaper articles, they just seem to mine the depths of human depravity, from all sides of the political/philosophical spectrum. Basically, I've concluded that there is no idea or principle one can hold, but that reading such comments sections will make one feel embarrassed for being associated with it.

I should remember to offer thanks to both our members and our mods who ensure that this site is something rare on the internet, a discussion site that does not resemble a nest of rabid weasels snarling at each other.

I must be really lucky. I read several sites besides this one and they are all usually polite and civil (even one which is dedicated to a certain profession that is stuck with the stereotype of being crude and uneducated). I am also a mod on a smaller site, and the amount of work it takes to keep the rest of the members from seeing the crud that goes on behind the scenes, and cleaning up messes when they do happen is insane. I can't imagine how tough it is here, as this is a much larger site.

Logged

Some people lift weights. I lift measures. It's a far more esoteric workout. - (Quoted from a personal friend)

For those who don't want to go to the story, this young woman was hired as an intern. "O’Bagy started at the institute as an unpaid intern and was pulled into their work on Syria when a researcher needed a fluent Arabic speaker, which transformed her internship into a much longer gig. Kagan hired O’Bagy as an analyst around August or September 2012, and said her understanding was that O’Bagy was working toward her Ph.D. at Georgetown." According to Georgetown University, O'Bagy earned a BA and a MA, but is not registered as a student.

There was a lawyer on the news talking about the recent navy yard shooting. The interviewer asked her how employers could screen for mental issues in potential employees, since they aren't allowed to directly ask in interviews. The lawyer laughed and said cheerfully "I tell my clients 'I'd rather you go ahead and violate (disablity hiring law) by asking inappropriate questions now and defend you in a lawsuit about it later, rather than ending up with a situation like that (the shooting) down the line." I don't know if she's normally that stupid or she secretly had a huge liquid lunch beforehand

There was a lawyer on the news talking about the recent navy yard shooting. The interviewer asked her how employers could screen for mental issues in potential employees, since they aren't allowed to directly ask in interviews. The lawyer laughed and said cheerfully "I tell my clients 'I'd rather you go ahead and violate (disablity hiring law) by asking inappropriate questions now and defend you in a lawsuit about it later, rather than ending up with a situation like that (the shooting) down the line." I don't know if she's normally that stupid or she secretly had a huge liquid lunch beforehand

What would you ask, anyway?

"Are you a massive jerk who thinks it's okay to take out your problems on others?""Are you the GOOD kind of sociopath that will end up on the management fast track, or the other kind?"

There was a lawyer on the news talking about the recent navy yard shooting. The interviewer asked her how employers could screen for mental issues in potential employees, since they aren't allowed to directly ask in interviews. The lawyer laughed and said cheerfully "I tell my clients 'I'd rather you go ahead and violate (disablity hiring law) by asking inappropriate questions now and defend you in a lawsuit about it later, rather than ending up with a situation like that (the shooting) down the line." I don't know if she's normally that stupid or she secretly had a huge liquid lunch beforehand

What would you ask, anyway?

"Are you a massive jerk who thinks it's okay to take out your problems on others?""Are you the GOOD kind of sociopath that will end up on the management fast track, or the other kind?"

Now, if you get fired from your job what is the proper thing to doa) Look for another job ?b) file for unemployment ?c) bring your large cachet of weapons in for show and tell?

There was a lawyer on the news talking about the recent navy yard shooting. The interviewer asked her how employers could screen for mental issues in potential employees, since they aren't allowed to directly ask in interviews. The lawyer laughed and said cheerfully "I tell my clients 'I'd rather you go ahead and violate (disablity hiring law) by asking inappropriate questions now and defend you in a lawsuit about it later, rather than ending up with a situation like that (the shooting) down the line." I don't know if she's normally that stupid or she secretly had a huge liquid lunch beforehand

What would you ask, anyway?

"Are you a massive jerk who thinks it's okay to take out your problems on others?""Are you the GOOD kind of sociopath that will end up on the management fast track, or the other kind?"

Now, if you get fired from your job what is the proper thing to doa) Look for another job ?b) file for unemployment ?c) bring your large cachet of weapons in for show and tell?

Flipping through the channels: Someone left the camera running at the news station, in front of the weather map, while the weatherman was behind it somewhere asking "Are you my relief ? Are you my relief ? I hope you're my relief. Where's my relief ?" Gave me a good laugh!

A European dating site decides to advertise on Facebook. It uses images the director admits were "scraped" from the web, to indicate the sort of young women you could meet near Halifax, Nova Scotia.

One of the images prominent in the ad is of a teenaged girl recently bullied into suicide. No permissions were ever given, of course, to use her image for dating site ads.

dating site is now banned from Facebook.

Logged

My cousin's memoir of love and loneliness while raising a child with multiple disabilities will be out on Amazon soon! Know the Night, by Maria Mutch, has been called "full of hope, light, and companionship for surviving the small hours of the night."

There was a lawyer on the news talking about the recent navy yard shooting. The interviewer asked her how employers could screen for mental issues in potential employees, since they aren't allowed to directly ask in interviews. The lawyer laughed and said cheerfully "I tell my clients 'I'd rather you go ahead and violate (disablity hiring law) by asking inappropriate questions now and defend you in a lawsuit about it later, rather than ending up with a situation like that (the shooting) down the line." I don't know if she's normally that stupid or she secretly had a huge liquid lunch beforehand

What would you ask, anyway?

"Are you a massive jerk who thinks it's okay to take out your problems on others?""Are you the GOOD kind of sociopath that will end up on the management fast track, or the other kind?"

I had to apply for a security clearance for a job I had in college. They had this very long panel of questions, and some of them were utterly wild. "Do you ever feel like a rubber band is wrapped around your head?" "Do animals ever talk to you?" "Do you hear voices telling you what to do?" I realize that the questions are probing for things like schizophrenia, but I found myself wondering if people really do ever answer "yes." I mentioned it to my boss, and he said that yes, yes, some people actually do. I guess if you're actually in the middle of a disease like that, you might not realize that most people *don't* hear voices or hear animals talking, or you might be relieved to see the question and think that, yes, this *is* normal, otherwise why would they be asking? Or something?

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Emily is 9 years old! 1/07Jenny is 7 years old! 10/08Charlotte is 5 years old! 8/10Megan is 3 years old! 10/12Lydia is 1 year old! 12/14

Well, my cats kinda speak to me. When Pollux trots ahead of me into the bathroom, hops into the bathtub, and meows at me as I enter, it's pretty clear that he wants me to turn on the water so he can get a drink. (Never mind the sink just a few feet away has the water dripping at all times. No, he wants bathtub water.)

Does that count?

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What part of v_e = \sqrt{\frac{2GM}{r}} don't you understand? It's only rocket science!

"The problem with re-examining your brilliant ideas is that more often than not, you discover they are the intellectual equivalent of saying, 'Hold my beer and watch this!'" - Cindy Couture